I\u2019ve never been as interested in working for McDonalds as I have been recently. Not because of a long-suppressed desire to wear a polo shirt & headset, and not because I want out of the job I\u2019ve already got, but because operating the griddle at Mickey D\u2019s is more lucrative than ever. And I\u2019m qualified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to get my last job I first had to invest 2 years of my life and several thousand dollars to secure an associate\u2019s degree. It required a professional resume, character references, and a full background check. I even wore a suit to the interview. After all of that, I felt pretty lucky to get the position. It was the highest paying gig I\u2019d ever landed, even though it offered me no health, no dental, and no PTO. Yet even after 7 years of faithful service, it still paid less than McDonalds is offering me right now as a walk-in. It felt like a fair-shake at the time, until I drove past the Golden Arches yesterday and saw that sign in the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s not just McDonalds either. Gas stations, factories, & businesses all over town are doing the same thing. Not because they have gobs of money to spend on their staff, but because they can\u2019t even find people to pay. I still remember the olden days when education & experience were mandatory for any position that offered more than fifteen bucks an hour. Now, the top two requirements are your physical presence and a pulse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have we suddenly become a people that won\u2019t serve without a bribe? That might explain why hiring incentives have doubled since last year, and why companies have to \u2018bait\u2019 people into employment. The industries that offer the biggest kickbacks right now, are driving-related occupations and personal\/home health care. Cash bonuses on those fronts range from $100 to $30,000. Other places are offering bonuses of $100 to $2,500\u2026just to prepare food!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some would blame this trend on the pandemic. Others might point their finger at a covert political agenda. But what if the real problem was nothing more than personal irresponsibility? Selfishness & sloth weren\u2019t born yesterday, but they certainly seem to be growing stronger with every passing generation. When offered a choice to serve or to be served, many nowadays are choosing the latter. The last 18 months have really exposed some underlying health conditions in our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This crisis, however, isn\u2019t unique to America. The church faces a similar predicament, and it\u2019s nothing recent either. Jesus once said, \u201cThe harvest is great, but the workers are few<\/em>\u201d. There\u2019s always been more work to be done than there are personnel willing or able to do it. We\u2019re surrounded by piles of unmade money, unpicked fruit, and unsaved souls, all for a shortage of laborers. Maybe we\u2019re all waiting for bigger incentives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What would you do if there were<\/em> no incentives? What if serving Jesus garnered you nothing at all? No praise, no promotion, no actual wage. How much does it take to convince you that the giving of your time is worth the time you give? Be careful of withholding or discontinuing your service just because it doesn\u2019t seem \u2018worth it\u2019 anymore. If you require a fifteen dollar bribe just to serve Jesus, you\u2019re already halfway to betrayal without even realizing it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, let\u2019s appreciate the opportunities we have to serve the Lord no matter how unprofitable they seem. I know it can sometimes feel like the investment we make far outweighs the return, but that\u2019s just because we haven\u2019t seen the full return yet. \u201cDon\u2019t get tired of doing what\u2019s good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don\u2019t give up<\/em>\u201d (Galatians 6:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s never been easier to be counter-cultural than it is right now. All it takes is a little service. Giving of your time and energy to help out where help is needed. Working yourself to exhaustion for no greater incentive than the pleasure of knowing that God is pleased. We\u2019re called to shine in this world, and one of the ways it\u2019s done, is through our work. \u201cSo, my dear brothers and sisters, always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless<\/em>\u201d (I Corinthians 15:58).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Kwik Trip struggles to find someone who\u2019ll get out of bed and run their cash register for $30,000 a year, the servants of Christ are gladly giving up their evenings & weekends for free. Because we love our Employer. We aren\u2019t in it for the money, but for joy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep up the good work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve never been as interested in working for McDonalds as I have been recently. Not because of a long-suppressed desire to wear a polo shirt & headset, and not because I want out of the job I\u2019ve already got, but because operating the griddle at Mickey D\u2019s is more lucrative than ever. And I\u2019m qualified. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastors-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}YOU DON\u2019T DESERVE A BREAK TODAY\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
WE\u2019RE LOVIN\u2019 IT\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n